Movies
Weekend Box Office
Film Awards & Top 10s By Year
All-Time High Scores
All-Time Low Scores
Wide Releases
Now In Theaters
76
(500) Days of Summer
60
9
17
All About Steve
37
Amelia
53
Astro Boy
66
Bandslam
45
Box, The
61
Capitalism: A Love Story
55
Christmas Carol, A
43
Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant
66
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs
29
Collector, The
23
Couples Retreat
80
District 9
61
Extract
39
Fame
xx
Fantastic Mr. Fox
30
Final Destination, The
34
Fourth Kind, The
60
Funny People
32
G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra
27
Gamer
41
G-Force
39
Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard, The
46
Halloween II
73
Hangover, The
78
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
55
I Can Do Bad All By Myself
66
Informant!, The
69
Inglourious Basterds
58
Invention of Lying, The
47
Jennifer's Body
66
Julie & Julia
34
Law Abiding Citizen
33
Love Happens
54
Men Who Stare At Goats, The
67
Michael Jackson's This Is It
51
My Sister's Keeper
42
Orphan
28
Pandorum
63
Perfect Getaway, A
86
Ponyo![]()
35
Post Grad
48
Proposal, The
30
Saw VI
53
Shorts
24
Sorority Row
83
Star Trek![]()
33
Stepfather, The
45
Surrogates
55
Taking Woodstock
47
Time Traveler's Wife
96
Toy Story/Toy Story 2 3D![]()
35
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
28
Ugly Truth, The
88
Up![]()
71
Where the Wild Things Are
67
Whip It
28
Whiteout
73
Zombieland
Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed movies.
Limited Releases
Now In Theaters
58
(Untitled)
96
35 Shots of Rum![]()
56
Adam
72
Adela
39
Adventures of Power
78
Afghan Star
61
After the Storm
66
Afterschool
xx
All the Best
58
American Casino
72
Amreeka
48
Antichrist
73
Araya
62
Art & Copy
55
As Seen Through These Eyes
76
Baader Meinhof Complex, The
86
Beaches of Agnes, The![]()
13
Beautiful Life, A
70
Beeswax
35
Beyond a Reasonable Doubt
71
Big Fan
66
Black Dynamite
51
Blind Date
xx
Blind Pig Who Wants to Fly
76
Bliss
35
Blue Tooth Virgin, The
26
Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day, The
57
Boys Are Back, The
45
Brief Interviews with Hideous Men
81
Bright Star![]()
70
Bronson
45
Burning Plain, The
xx
Carriers
55
Casi Divas
57
Chelsea on the Rocks
62
Cloud 9
65
Coco Before Chanel
69
Cold Souls
59
Collapse
44
Confessionsofa Ex-Doofus-ItchyFooted Mutha
82
Cove, The![]()
75
Crude
82
Damned United, The![]()
67
Departures
xx
Dil Bole Hadippa
71
Disgrace
xx
Do Knot Disturb
70
Earth Days
24
Eating Out 3: All You Can Eat
85
Education, An![]()
55
Endgame
xx
Eulogy for a Vampire
xx
Everyone Else
xx
Fatal Promises
56
Fifty Dead Men Walking
62
Five Minutes of Heaven
74
Flame & Citron
49
Food Beware: The French Organic Revolution
80
Food, Inc.
28
Free Style
xx
From Mexico with Love
50
Fuel
25
Gentlemen Broncos
50
Give Me Your Hand
58
Gogol Bordello Non-Stop
72
Good Hair
89
Goodbye Solo![]()
52
Grace
66
Harmony and Me
81
Headless Woman, The![]()
xx
Heretics, The
63
Horse Boy, The
73
House of the Devil, The
xx
How to Seduce Difficult Women
74
Humpday
94
Hurt Locker, The![]()
29
I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell
16
If One Thing Matters: A Film About Wolfgang Tillmans
75
In Search of Beethoven
83
In the Loop![]()
61
Intimate Enemies
42
Irene in Time
70
It Might Get Loud
46
Killing Kasztner
19
Labor Day
xx
Laila's Birthday
41
Little Ashes
41
Little Traitor, The
66
Liverpool
34
Looking for Palladin
80
Lorna's Silence
83
Maid, The![]()
xx
Ministers, The
59
More Than a Game
67
Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers, The
34
Motherhood
62
My One and Only
xx
Mystery Team
48
New York, I Love You
73
Night and Day
66
No Impact Man
47
Ong Bak 2: The Beginning
34
Other Man, The
xx
Painter Sam Francis, The
54
Paper Heart
xx
Paradise
68
Paranormal Activity
68
Paris
44
Peter and Vandy
35
Play the Game
77
Precious: Based on the Novel by Sapphire
xx
Pretty Ugly People
65
Providence Effect, The
76
Rembrandt's J'accuse
69
September Issue, The
79
Serious Man, A
40
Shrink
61
Skin
77
Skin Too Few: The Days of Nick Drake, A
xx
Skiptracers
46
Splinterheads
39
St. Trinian's
89
Still Walking![]()
50
Stoning of Soraya M., The
55
Storm
65
Tetro
70
That Evening Sun
72
Thirst
xx
Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas 3D (re-release)
61
Trucker
xx
Turning Green
83
U2 3D![]()
66
Unmade Beds
66
Unmistaken Child
70
Visual Acoustics
55
Walt & El Grupo
67
Way We Get By, The
69
We Live in Public
64
Wedding Song, The
64
Where is Where?
xx
White on Rice
74
Woman in Berlin, A
69
World's Greatest Dad
70
Yes Men Fix the World
69
Yoo-Hoo, Mrs. Goldberg
xx
You, the Living
Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed movies.
Then She Found Me

Mixed or average reviews
Based on 27 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
Based on 30 votes
Read user comments
Rate this movie >
Movie Info
Genre(s): Comedy | Drama | Romance
Written by:
Helen Hunt
Vic Levin
Alice Arlen
Directed by: Helen Hunt
Release Date:
Theatrical: April 25, 2008
DVD: September 2, 2008
Running Time: 100 minutes, Color
Origin: USA
Summary
RATING: R for language and some sexual content
Starring Helen Hunt, Bette Midler, Colin Firth, Matthew Broderick, and Ben Shankman
Adapted from Elinor Lipmanās novel of the same name, Helen Hunt makes her feature directing debut with Then She Found Me, a touching story of schoolteacher April Epner and her very unlikely path towards personal fulfillment. Following the separation from her husband and the death of her adopted mother, April is contacted by her apparent birth mother, who turns out to be a local talk show host Bernice Graves. As Bernice tries to become the mother to April that she was never able to be, April seems to find solace in the arms of the parent of one of her students, only to find that the mystery to life's questions cannot be solved by a simple revelation. (THINKFilm)
Also On The Web: Internet Movie Database
What The Critics Said
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
Variety Joe Leydon
A smart, subtle and seriously funny dramedy bound to find favor with sophisticated auds.
Read Full Review >The New Yorker David Denby
With the screenwriters Alice Arlen and Victor Levin, Hunt adapted the story from a 1990 novel by Elinor Lipman, and has turned the material into a fine, tense, unpredictable comedy of mixed-up emotions and sudden illuminations.
Read Full Review >Chicago Tribune Sid Smith
A strength of Then She Found Me, from Elinor Lipman's novel, is its straightforward, uncomplicated storytelling that keeps the threads untangled and blends the everyday and the absurd with natural ease.
Read Full Review >New York Post Lou Lumenick
While there are plenty of laughs, Hunt doesn't play this for farce. Even Midler gives perhaps the most restrained, and arguably the most winning, performance of her screen career.
Read Full Review >Entertainment Weekly Clark Collis
Hunt's movie-directing debut frequently crackles with nice gags.
Read Full Review >TV Guide Ken Fox
This is Hunt's show, and she delivers a strong performance that captures all the seriousness and absurdity of the avalanche of circumstances that comes crashing down on April's head. To say she's only half the director she is an actress is actually paying her quite a complement.
Read Full Review >San Francisco Chronicle Ruthe Stein
The new movie shrieks of motherhood - raising hot-button issues like biological clocks running down, the rights of birth mothers and whether to adopt or give artificial insemination a shot.
Read Full Review >The Hollywood Reporter John DeFore
With subtle laughs but solid emotional thrust, it will play very well with older audiences.
Read Full Review >The New York Times Stephen Holden
Then She Found Me, a serious comedy, is more impressive for what it refuses to do than for its modest accomplishment.
Read Full Review >Los Angeles Times Carina Chocano
There's something about Hunt's put-upon persona that grates, and it would be nice to see her for once in a role that doesn't call on her to be so angry, short-tempered and disappointed all the time...Still, all in all, Then She Found Me is a warm, entertaining and well-made little movie and an auspicious debut for Hunt the director.
Read Full Review >Seattle Post-Intelligencer Paula Nechak
While Hunt's directing debut is promising, if understated, it's her performance as schoolteacher April Epner that impresses the audience.
Read Full Review >Austin Chronicle Marjorie Baumgarten
Some may dismiss Then She Found Me as a mere "women's film," but it's really a more honest and mature take on sex and the city.
Read Full Review >Boston Globe Wesley Morris
What ought to be a bittersweet movie about a woman's momentary unraveling feels like a workout class: Cardio melodrama.
Read Full Review >USA Today Claudia Puig
There are some wise observations about parenting. Hunt draws some good performances from the cast and wisely chose a low-key personal story for her directorial debut.
Read Full Review >Portland Oregonian Marc Mohan
The plot, as hinted, goes strictly by the "How April Got Her Groove Back" book, but it must be said that the performances push it a notch above pedestrian.
Read Full Review >Baltimore Sun Michael Sragow
This whole movie has zero chemistry. Broderick and Hunt are a match made in hell; Firth and Hunt are a match made in limbo.
Read Full Review >Philadelphia Inquirer Carrie Rickey
The material is so charged that it threatens to electrocute any who would touch it. Yet from the moment that Bette Midler, as Bernice the bio-Mom, appears, she becomes the instrument of its emotional release, catharsis teetering on high heels.
Read Full Review >The Globe and Mail (Toronto) Stephen Cole
No, there isn't anything wrong with comfort entertainment. Then She Found Me could have, should have been something special - a "Knocked Up" for weary boomers. The only hitch is that it isn't all that entertaining. Nor comforting for that matter.
Read Full Review >Newsweek David Ansen
There's a quirky, honest movie struggling to emerge from Then She Found Me (April's Jewish heritage is refreshingly portrayed, and there are lovely, scattered moments when the characters surprise you), but Hunt, in her directorial debut, can't seem to decide whether she'd rather make a spicy ethnic dish or bland comfort food.
Read Full Review >Village Voice Robert Wilonsky
In short, it's the kind of film that only a mother, which is to say my mother, would love.
Read Full Review >The Onion (A.V. Club) Nathan Rabin
With Midler missing in action much of the time, the film drowns in a sea of thudding earnestness.
Read Full Review >New York Daily News Elizabeth Weitzman
Has some nice moments, but it feels very much like a first film. The pacing is off, and the cast members appear to be acting in completely different projects.
Read Full Review >Chicago Reader J.R. Jones
Hunt's crabby performance weighs on the film, though it's nothing compared to Colin Firth's scenery-chewing turn as her self-lacerating new beau.
Read Full Review >Washington Post John Anderson
Suffers from, if anything, a lack of pure confidence in the story, the actors or the audience.
Read Full Review >ReelViews James Berardinelli
This is the sort of movie that gives "chick flicks" a bad name. It's a cross between inept melodrama and a bad sit-com.
Read Full Review >Film Threat Matthew Sorrento
Overall, the film is lost and never found. In her first shot as director, Hunt seems direction-less.
Read Full Review >Wall Street Journal Joe Morgenstern
A bizarre, overcooked broth that combines a broad sitcom style (the banter goes rat-tat-tat like a steam drill) with a preposterous succession of plot complications, plus solemn questions of identity, adoption and the nature of happiness.
Read Full Review >What Our Users Said
The average user rating for this movie is 4.6 (out of 10) based on 30 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
Peter M gave it a1:
The worst movie I have seen in years. It is boring, the story is flat, and overall, the movie has no drive. Watch only if you have absolutely nothing else to do.
Mike T gave it a9:
My wife and I truly loved this little movie. We found it quirky, moving in places, and interesting throughout. I'm amazed at some of the people's comments about it.
Jake B. gave it an8:
As far as I'm concerned, Helen Hunt makes every movie she's in worth watching. When it counts, the emotions are there, the characters are true to life, the personal anguish and triumphs resonate. Ms. Hunt: make more movies!
marshall gave it a0:
I'd never again trust a critic who had anything good to say about this stinker.
Alane S. gave it a10:
Well acted.
Tony B. gave it a4:
Has its moments, but they are few and far between,
Phoebe gave it a7:
not that bad. good for weeknight.
